2014 is the first time that a Boat Race crew has had a sculling world champion and Olympic medallist sitting in the bow seat of a Blues crew, let alone one from an aboriginal tribe.

Storm Uru, the twelfth New Zealander to row in the Boat Race and a former lightweight international, is also almost certainly the first ever Maori to row in the world-renowned event, and proud of his Ngäi Tahu descent which has seen him crowned Maori Sportsperson of the Year twice.

The man with the best name in rowing came third at the London Olympics in that controversially restarted lightweight double sculls race, the finale to an eight-year international career featuring three under-23 and senior world championship titles as well as the 2012 bronze. Meanwhile he had continued studying: chemistry and finance at undergraduate level and a masters in international business, using distance study whenever he was abroad for rowing.

Pragmatic and with a career in finance beckoning, Uru decided that a spell at the Oxford Saïd Business School was the perfect springboard, along with a last flourish of his rowing skills. "It was always a dream from a very long time ago," he said.

"After I became world champion in 2009 I decided after this Olympic campaign I'd see if I could have a crack at something different and help my transition to a career."

He was naturally drawn to the Dark Blues, since in southern New Zealand Oxford has a higher profile as a university. However, he applied to Oxford and Cambridge business schools. "When I came over for interview at both last year I felt like I fitted in better at Oxford." In the end he had offers from each, so was free to go with his dark Blue instincts. He's clearly having a hoot, but it's been difficult too.

"Juggling the rowing and MBA at the same time is completely different from being a professional athlete. There's no way I could compare this six months to any other six months I've done, it's been a major challenge for me."

He sought advice from George Bridgewater, a 2009 winning Oxford Blue and New Zealand Olympic medallist. "George said 'don't worry about sleep during term, you can sleep in the holidays'," says Uru.

"And he said you need to do everything you can to be in that Blue Boat, because that race is one of the best things he's ever done."

It hasn't been an easy year for Uru: while technically skilled, he was still a lightweight attempting to make a heavyweight crew. He had 17kg of new weight to turn into muscle after working for Bank of New Zealand last year, learning how to push his body again without injuring it.

Once at Oxford he had to tackle changing from a lifetime of sculling to sweep rowing. "It feels completely different, not natural at all. It's quite difficult mentally because my body had adapted so well to sculling, that it found different areas of the sweep stroke hard." He didn't feel confident he had made the boat even at the weigh-in last month.

There can be no messy strokes tomorrow, but Uru says he's never nervous. However, he is excited to be part of something huge and historic.

"I'd watched [the Boat Race] live before on TV, but I didn't really understand the significance of rowing in the UK until I competed at Henley in 2010. At home when you compete you might have Mum and Dad and a few friends watching. But here, Henley and the Boat Race, that's something special."

It will be even more special if Uru is the first man over the finish line.